National Temperance Hospital

The National Temperance Hospital was a hospital in Hampstead Road, London, between Mornington Crescent and Warren Street.

National Temperance Hospital
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The National Temperance Hospital, off Hampstead Road
National Temperance Hospital is located in London Borough of Camden
National Temperance Hospital
Location within Camden
Geography
LocationCamden, London, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°31′43″N 0°08′17″W / 51.52871°N 0.13810°W / 51.52871; -0.13810
Organisation
Care systemNHS England
History
Opened1873
Closed1990
Demolished2018
Links
ListsHospitals in England

History

edit

The hospital opened as the London Temperance Hospital on 6 October 1873[1] by initiative of the National Temperance League,[2] and was managed by a board of 12 teetotallers.[3] Under its rules, the use of alcohol to treat patients was discouraged, but not outlawed: doctors could prescribe alcohol when they thought necessary for exceptional cases.[4]

In 1931, Chicago magnate Samuel Insull donated $160,000 to build a new extension, the "Insull Memorial wing"[5] which was designed in the Art Deco style by architect William Binnie.[6]

It was renamed the National Temperance Hospital in 1932[3] and acquired the premises of the St Pancras Female Orphanage and Charity School, located on an adjacent site, in 1945.[7] It was incorporated into the National Health Service in 1948 under the management of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board.[3]

After the hospital was closed in 1990,[3] its exterior featured in an episode of Mr. Bean, broadcast in October 1995, in which Bean tailgates an ambulance and stops behind it before entering the hospital.[8] It was briefly considered, but rejected, as a potential site for the National Institute for Medical Research between 2006 and 2007.[9]

The building was used by Camden Collective, a regeneration initiative, from 2015 to 2017.[10] In 2017 demolition began as part of the work necessary to clear the area for the proposed High Speed 2 railway line.[11] Time capsules were discovered during the demolition in October 2017.[12]

References

edit
  1. ^ "National Temperance Hospital". National Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  2. ^ "The teetotaller's hospital: Removing drink from Victorian medicine". BBC News. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d "National Temperance Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Hospital Records Database". National Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Great, near great". The Milwaukee Journal. 23 April 1931. Retrieved 6 July 2018.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "The abandoned Temperance Hospital in Euston". Flickering Lamps. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  7. ^ "St Pancras Female Orphanage and Charity School". Children's Homes. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Mr Bean". Retro Filming Locations. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. ^ "National Institute for Medical Research". Daily Hansard. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  10. ^ "Hospitals". Derelict London. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. ^ "HS2: service held for 60,000 to be exhumed at Euston burial ground". The Guardian. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Time capsules at Euston temperance hospital make for sobering news". The Times. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
edit